Container



C. IJ. ALFRED Aril 12,1938.

Y CONTAINER FilAed OCT.. 24, 19564 INVENTOR @ma ATTORNEYS Petented Apr. 12, i938 PATENT OFFICE amasar CONTAINER Clarence J. Alfred, Orange, N. J.; assigner to The American Sugar Raining-Company, New-York, N.- Y., a corporation of New Jersey application oeteber 24, .19st, serien Ne. 167,316

claims. (cl. 229-51) 'I'his invention relates to containers of paper board and the like suitable for the distribution of various products such as packages of sugar, salt, etc., and is concerned more 'particularly 5 'with a container of novel construction having its top closed by flaps which can be rmly secured together to protect the contents during shipment and vhandling and are provided with means by which they can be readily separated l to open the container when it is to be emptied.

held in'place by. adhesive between the contacting faces thereof to place the .container in condition to be lled. After the contents have been placed within the container, the flaps at the other end are also folded inward and secured by adhesive and the container is then ready for shipment. l l

In such a. illed container, the outer flaps at each end 11e with their ediaeent outer`- edges close together and -usuallysubstantially in abutment so as'toprovide apractically continuous outer end wall, and as a consequence, the flaps which are held together ytightly by strong adhesive can be separated only with great diniulty when the container is tolbe opened. For' this purpose, it has been common toemploy an 4instrument of some sort whichis inserteds between the outer and under flaps and is used to pr'y the outer flaps free, but unless this opera- V- tion is performed'with great caregthe instrument may pierce the flaps'and do injury to the contents; If such an instrument is not em- 40 away parts of the aps, but this operation again is a diiicult one and may result in injury being done to the contents. Y The present invention is, accordingly, directe to the provision of a containerv of the type described which is strong and rugged and may be tightly closed so as to providevproper protection to the contents during distribution, and which is provided with means by which the container can be opened easily and without the use of instrumentswhich might injure the contents.-

While the new container may take various ployed, the'tontainer may beropened by cutting lar body having flaps extending from the opposite walls thereof at both ends. These flaps i consistl of an inner pair and an outer pair, and the latter are of such size that when folded inward over the inner flaps, their outer edges are substantially in abutment. At the bottom end of the completed container, the flaps are folded inward and secured in place by films of 'adhesive adhering to the contacting facesfther'e of. At the top, one or both of the inner flaps' are provided with areas of adhesive-repellent material on the outer faces disposed in such position as to be overlain by portions of the outer flaps adjacentto and preferably spaced inward a short distance from the outer edges vof the latter. Also, the adhesive lms between the contacting faces of. the inner and outer aps may be sub-divided by uncoated areas which extend adjacent to and, preferably, intersect each area coated with adhesive-repellent material. 20

With this arrangement, one or more vouter corners of the outer flaps. are only lightly' held in place by `the adhesive so that when the con- I tainer is to be opened, each such outer corner f may be raised with thefingers to such anextent-as to permit its flapv to be grasped by the hand. l Thereafter. the entire flap, -which can -be securely gripped, can be easily raised and @torn free from the inner aps to which it is secured. 1 30 i For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying vdraw- Figure 1 is a plan view of an unfolded blank used in producing one of the new containers;

Figure 2 is a plan vfew of the container partially sealed; A

Figures Sand 4 are, respectively, a longitudinal section and a plan view of 'sealing mechanism suitable for use with the new container; and

Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views illustrating the operations of. opening one of the new containers.

Referring to the drawing, the blank `Ill shown in Figure 1 is intended 'to produce a container of oblong cross-section, and it includes four sub-` divisions designated lila, lill);V Illc, and Illd, re spectively. The sub-divisions Illa and Hic are of the same dimensions and are to form the long '50 -sidewalls of the container, while the sub-divisions Ib and Ilid form the short side walls thereof. Each sub-division is provided with apsv H. at .the opposite ends thereof, and the-aps are separated from the side walls and the side 55 -walls are separated from one another by scored l lines I2 along which the blank may be folded` ple, as printers ink. This area is illustrated as triangular in form and lying on the ap IIb, and

it is placed near but spaced a short distance from the junction of the nap with the side wall portion of its section IIlb at the ymedian line of the iiap. A

When the blank is to be formed into a container, it isfolded along the lines I2,` separating the sub-divisions from one another, and this brings the outer edges I5,- I5, of the blank into juxtaposition, after which the edges are secured together in any suitable way, as, for example, by means of a strip of tapewhich is secured against the outer faces of the sub-divisions along the corner by a suitable adhesive. The containers are thus formed by the manufacturer and supplied to the user in flattened condition. When one of the v :s hesive are sub-divided by uncoated areas I1.

containers is to be filled for shipment, it is first opened up to rectangular section andthe bottom end is closed. For this purpose, the flaps extending from the subdivisions IIlb and Illd are first folded inward. Both these inner flaps are free of adhesive-repellent material and, after they have been folded as described, the outer flaps extending from the sub-divisions |011 and Illc receive anim of adhesive on their inner surfaces and are then folded inward to overlie and surfaces whichare to lie inmost when the flaps 4 are folded inward. In the container illustrated in Figure 2, lms of adhesive are applied over rectangular areas I6, I6 on one of the outer naps. Y

while on the other, the areas coated with ad- The uncoated areas are illustrated as having the form of strips extending parallel to the outerl edge I5' of the iiap onwhich they are applied and lying at a short distance inward from this edge.

Y After the adhesive has been applied to the outer flaps, they are folded inward to lie with their edges I5' in substantial abutment, as illustrated in Figure 5. The iiap I Ic attached to the vsub-division IIlc is held firmly in place by its .adhesive coatings I5,while the flap IIa when folded inward lies with its corner I8 overlying the area I4 of adhesive-repellent material. Also, one o'f the uncoated areas I1 on the iiap IIa extends adjacent'to and preferably intersects the triangular area I4 near one of its corners, asillustratedin Figure 6. Because of the presence of the adhesiverepellent material, thecorner I8 of flap IIa is held lightly in position AWith its extreme outer edge held in place by adhesive tothe area I4 between the adhesive-repellent area and the line of junction f the flap IIb and its section IIlb. When the container is to'be opened, the corner I8 may he readily raised by the fingers bythe breaking of the adhesive on the area I4', as illustrated in Figuie- 5 and the raising of the corner is facilitated by the presence of the uncoated area I1 extending close to or, preferably,

intersecting the triangular area Il. In this manner, the 'corner may be easily lifted to the extent necessary to provide a hand hold, which is of such size that it may be easily gripped by the person opening the container and used as a means for separating the flap IIa from the inner flaps.

-When the flap I Ia has thus been raised, the corresponding outer fiap IIcpcan' be gripped at its midpoint between the spaced outer ends I9, I9

-of the inner flaps IIb and IId, and freed from adhesive, the lled container with its outer fiaps in theposition shown in Figure 2 is passed beneath the two devices in contact with the rolls 22. .'As these rolls rotate, they pick up films of adhesive from their vessels and apply the adhesive to the surfaces of the flaps. The adhesive may be applied in bands extending the full length of the naps, or if desired, the mechanism may b e so constructed 'as to apply the adhesive on separate areas as indicated at I6. In order to provide the uncoated areasll on one of the naps, in this case the flap IIa, the device used in connection with that ap is provided with a doctor blade 23 mounted on the bottom of its vessel in position to contact the roll 22, and a's the roll rotates, this blade removes adhesive from the area on the roll which moves past its outer end. Accordingly, the adhesive is applied by that device on areas separated by uncoated areas I'I, and the blade is positioned to provide uncoated areas so positioned so that when the ap I Ia is folded inward, one of these areas will be close to and, preferably, intersect the area I4 which is provided with adhesive-A repellent material. y

The new container can thus be securely closed in the manner described, and when so sealed, the outer flaps IIa and IIc at the top'lie with their outer edges I5' substantially in abutment so as to provide a practically continuous outer wall. Both naps are held sufficiently securely in position to insure that the container will withstand ordinary handling and shipment, but the outer corner of one of the outer naps is held so lightly in place,

by reason of the'area of adhesive-repellent ma.

terial beneath it, that this corner may be easily raised by the ngers and without the use of any instrument. Once the corner is freed, the separation 5f the outer flaps from the inner ones is a simple operation. 'I'he opening of the container can thus be carried on without the use of tools, and damage to the contents, when the carton is to be emptied, is thereby avoided.

1. In a container, the combination of a pair of inner naps extending from opposite walls of the container at one end thereof and folded inwardly,

, a pair of outer flaps extending from other opposite walls of the container at said end and folded inwardly to overlie and contact with the outer faces of the inner naps, the outer edges of the outer naps lying close together, a nlm of adhesive-repellent material covering an area on the top face of at least one of the inner flaps, said area lying beneath a corner of an outer nap, and

the inner and outer flaps and overlyingthe adhesive-repellent film, said faces having an adhesive-free area lying closely adjacent to the area covered by the adhesive-repellent lm .and extending substantially the length of an outer flap'.

2. In acontainer, the-combination of a pair of inner flaps extending from opposite walls ofthe container at one'end thereof and folded inwardly,

a pair'of outer flaps extending from other opposite walls of the container at said end and folded inwardly to overlie and contact with the outer .faces of the inner aps, the outer edges of the outer iaps lying close together, a lm of adhesive-repellent material covering an area onthe top face of at least one of the inner aps, said arealying beneath a corner of an outer flap, and films of adhesive'between the contacting faces-of the inner and outer flaps and overlying the adhesive-repellent iiim, said faces having adhesive.- free areas intersecting the area covered by the .adhesive-repellent film and extending generally lengthwise of said outer flaps.

3. In a container, the combination of a pair of inner flaps extending from opposite walls of: the

container at one end thereof and folded inwardly,

a'pair ofv outer flaps extending from other opposite walls of the container at said end and folded inwardly to overlie and contact with the outer faces of the inner flaps, the outer edges of theouter flaps lying close together, a lm of adhesive-repellent material covering anarea on the topV face of at least one of the inner flaps, said area lying beneath a corner of an outer ap, and 35 mms oi.' adhesive between the contacting faces of the inner and outer flaps and overlying the ad- Y v 2,113,927 filmsk of adhesive between the contacting faces ofhesive repellent nlm, said faces having adhesivefree strips extending across the faces parallel to the outer edges of the outer aps and lying closely adjacent to the area pellent lm. Y l

4. In a container, the combination of a pair of inner flaps extending from opposite walls of the covered by the adhesive-recontainer at one end thereof and folded inwardly, a pair of outer aps extending from other oppo site walls of the container at said end and folded inwardly to overliev and Acontact with the outerv area covered by the adhesive-repellent film and extending generally lengthwise of said 'outer aps. 5. In a container, the combination of an outer bp extending-from one of the Walls of the con.-

.tainer, an inner portion engaged by the ap to close the container, said portion and iiap having opposed faces secured together by adhesive, and a film of adhesive-repellent material on one of lsaid faces adjacent a corner of said flap, one of said faces having an adhesive-"freevl area lying A closely adjacent to the area covered by said film and extending generally lengthwise of said ap.

I CLARENCE J, ALFRED. 

